Video-blogging
How can we create a global videoblog index, focusing on videobloggers around the world whose content is aimed at a global audience outside their own countries and with serious content? Option 1 a. Tap into existing vlog directories '' Vlogmap.org http://www.vlogmap.org/map.php is already got a pretty good database of hundreds of videobloggers around the world, and they're embedding them into Google Maps and Google Earth. Vlogmap.org is user-driven; vloggers go to the site and add their own data. As GV becomes aware of vloggers, they should be encouraged to add their rss feed and geo coordinates to the site. I don't think we should be discouraged by the fact that a plurality, if not majority of vlogmap listings are in the US, because that's just the reality of vlogging demographics. Europe is quickly catching up, but listings for the rest of the world are pretty scant. Many international bloggers are participating in the main blogging forums like the videoblogging yahoogroup or mefeedia. These forums very much want to have the most complete databases of video bloggers, but the fact of the matter is that very few people are blogging in many countries, and they're not participating in these forums, either due to lack of awareness or language barriers. I would rather make the existing databases more complete than start up yet another vlog directory, especially when these other directories are openly asking for international vloggers to identify themselves and add themselves. ''b. Encourage more GVers to join the videoblogging yahoogroup There's definite interest in international video blogging; it's just a matter of getting people to participate. Downside: lack of structure, targeted RSS feed, serious content Option 2: Create Seperate Index Centralized or decentralized? Someone should a geo-structured aggregator of vlogs... and podcasts... with a light editorial process (i.e. not wide open signup as we don't want vlogs about Ahmed's cat and what he had for dinner) very much like GVO in fact, but with no content creating on the part of the regional editors, but merely selection process for inclusion... How to get a critical mass of serious content? From Boris The reality is that it takes a simple easy dentralized service to really mobilize a large contingent of people. At the same time, as always, it is NOT an "either or" question, but one of "BOTH" and we need to have systems in place that support both. And guess what... we do! The glue between it all are the various syndication formats (collectively known as RSS). I think definitely some of the barriers are all the arcana of video production/preparation/compression, though more and more solutions seem to be appearing with "sane" default options (even if they are poorly explained...) Not to mention bandwidth and access issues. :( Could you do a GV video pool at a media upload site, kinda like a Flickr pool? Answer from Andy Carvin: I'm not exactly sure if there's a perfect site for doing this. Ourmedia.org is a wonderful tool for uploading video, but some video bloggers have had difficulties with it. There are a few other sites out there that provide free server space as well. My recommendation, I think, would be to decentralize it; let people use whatever hosting service they choose, then post a link to the video on GV. (It would be useful for GV editors to be able to tag a story as a video blog, like we do with podcasts, so we can generate a unique feed for it.) If the videos have a unique RSS feed, it'll make it easier for people to subscribe to them directly, particularly since iTunes now supports video. Meanwhile, we could add this feed to mefeedia.com, which allows you to tag videos being posted to it - sorta like Flickr tagging for video. That would allow you to have a GV pool on mefeedia, while still having the videos and an RSS feed on GV itself. I use mefeedia to create a "wall of video" on my blog, which you can see in the right column of www.andycarvin.com or on this standalone page: http://www.andycarvin.com/video.html The mefeedia javascript is a little buggy, though - the last time I checked the page a few minutes ago it wasn't working, but it was working just fine about an hour ago. From Boris: Off the top of *my* head, "YouTube" seems to be the Flickr of video at the moment: http://www.youtube.com/ not as pretty but so far 80% of the video URLs friends forward me lately (and the rate is increasing for that) are at youtube (the other 20% being google video http://video.google.com/ ) Sadly ourmedia.org ( http://ourmedia.org/ ) seems to be too convoluted and requiring of engagement to have really taken off... Where does or could something like WITNESS (http://www.witness.org) or OneWorld (http://tv.oneworld.net/) fit in to the blogosphere? Andy Carvin's blog posts about the two video sites above: http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2004/07/achieving_a_per.html http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2005/01/when_mobile_pod.html Andy thinks it would make sense to reach out to OW members. OneWorld South Asia is a great place to start - Shaddy Shadrach and his team do amazing work. Resources videobloggers yahoo list: Some of the list members are creating a training program called node101.com; they want to conduct vlogging workshops in different cities around the world, but so far most of the volunteers, I believe, are in the US. List members also produce freevlog.org, a great step-by-step vlogging tutorial available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Japanese. (They're looking for more translators, btw.) Current TV offers online Survival Guide http://www.current.tv/studio/survivalguide/ for its citizen-viewer-contributors, with comprehensive video HOWTOs on journalistic technique, storytelling -- even how to shoot, edit, compress, and choose the gear you'll need to roll-your-own DIY TV.